Disney World Hotel Reopening Dates
With the reopening of Disney Vacation Club Resorts at Walt Disney World only a few days away and theme parks debuting in only 3 weeks, many are wondering when the remaining on-site WDW hotels will reopen. Well, we finally have some answers as to which resorts will–and will not–open later this year, along with dates they will open, and commentary.
To briefly recap, Deluxe Villas and DVC resorts are reopening on June 22, 2020 with the exception of Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House. Disney Vacation Club members have been able to book at these resorts, and most still have plenty of availability for June, July, August, and September 2020. (There’s far less availability for Halloween and Christmas seasons.)
All other new hotel reservations have been paused, with the only options being renting Disney Vacation Club points (we’d strongly recommend insurance if you go this route right now) or booking at third party hotels that have reopened already or will be doing so in the near future (many of these hotels will have priority access to the Disney Parks Pass system). Guests with existing reservations at non-Deluxe Villas have been given a few options…
Guests with bookings between June 22 and July 4, 2020 who are booked at other resorts are being offered adjustments. During this window, Walt Disney World will move guests from closed to open resorts at no additional cost. However, anyone choosing this option won’t be able to pick the resort to which they are moved for this date range.
While there have been rumors that guests with travel dates of July 5 and later are being asked to pay the cost of upgrading, this is not exactly true. Guests may modify their resort choice and choose an alternative, but must pay the difference in cost if picking the resort. Guests with reservations from July 5 to July 10 are likewise expected to be moved to a Deluxe Villa Resort not of their own choosing.
However, beyond that it’s likely that the guest recovery option will not be moving guests to Deluxe Villa Resorts. That’s because several other Walt Disney World-owned resorts will begin opening in phases starting July 10, 2020.
Additionally, starting on June 22, guests with existing hotel reservations at impacted resorts can request assistance in modifying their reservations. (We understand this to mean that guests with resorts booked will be able to call to add tickets to their reservations, but are awaiting further clarification on that.)
Here are the official reopening dates for each of the resorts…
Value Resorts:
- Disney’s All Star Movies Resort – TBD
- Disney’s All Star Music Resort – TBD
- Disney’s All Star Sports Resort – TBD
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – August 12, 2020
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort – July 10, 2020
Moderate Resorts:
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort – July 29, 2020
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort & Gran Destino Tower – October 14, 2020
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter – TBD
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside – TBD
Deluxe Resorts:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House – TBD
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort – August 24, 2020
- Disney’s Boardwalk Inn – October 1, 2020
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort – July 10, 2020
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – September 21, 2020
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – August 12, 2020
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – TBD
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort – August 24, 2020
Deluxe Villa Resorts:
- Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House – July 10, 2020
- All Others Reopening June 22, 2020
Commentary
There are some surprises here and some reopening dates that pretty well comport with expectations and what’s been rumored. The latest NBA at Walt Disney World rumors point to three resorts being used: Gran Destino Tower, Grand Floridian, and Yacht Club. These official dates align with that, even though the NBA arrangement no longer seems like a sure thing.
With regard to other resorts, our previous expectation that we repeatedly stated was that the hotels most likely to reopen sooner rather than later would be any resort connected to a DVC property, any resort with non-bus transportation (Skyliner, monorail, boats), and resorts that don’t typically host special events.
Specifically, we predicted that Coronado Springs, both of the Port Orleans Resorts, and the All Star Resorts would be least likely to reopen right away–potentially not at all in 2020. Based on the ‘to be determined’ dates above, we got 5 of those right.
Given the size and sprawl of the Port Orleans Resorts, with their bus-only transportation to the parks, it makes complete sense for Riverside and French Quarter to remain shuttered. We wouldn’t be surprised if these resorts aren’t back again until 2021, perhaps with some very light rebranding in spots.
The All Star Resorts host a lot of youth groups that host events at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. For the remainder of 2020, virtually all of those events have been (or will be) cancelled. So no surprise there, either.
Speaking of events, we honestly did not expect Coronado Springs to reopen right after the NBA was done there. It’ll be interesting to see whether that’s just Gran Destino Tower (which makes complete sense) or the outlying building clusters as well. Perhaps it’s easier to simply keep it open rather than wind down and back up again later.
There are a few other things we definitely didn’t see coming. Chief among them are the delayed reopening dates for Deluxe Resorts that are attached to Disney Vacation Club properties. Given the shared infrastructure costs, it’s very surprising to see Disney’s BoardWalk Inn not reopening until October and others delaying until August.
Wilderness Lodge is far and away the biggest surprise, which does not have a reopening date set at all. This strikes us as especially odd since the main lobby will be open as of June 22, with restaurants and the Copper Creek DVC villas in the main lodge reopening then. (Not to be confused with the Boulder Ridge stand-alone building, which is also reopening in June.)
We’re curious as to what this means for Disney Vacation Club maintenance fees down the road for these properties, as that DVC is footing the entire bill for shared amenities for several months. (Thankfully, we pay ours at Saratoga Springs Resort, which doesn’t have that issue.)
That’s another story for another day, though.
The big thing here is how this will allow Walt Disney World to accommodate guest relocations. At present, it’s unclear how this will work, but it appears that Walt Disney World will proactively require guests to modify, request a modification, or confirm a modification made by Walt Disney World.
Recently, Disney has been requiring guests confirm their visits. If no action is taken for impacted stays, Disney has been automatically canceling reservations within 7 days of the original check-in date. (We already had to do this for our upcoming stay.)
With Pop Century and Contemporary Resort opening as of July 10, 2020–not coincidentally the day before Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopen–this gives Walt Disney World two additional resorts above the Deluxe Villas as a “release valve.”
In other words, if you have a reservation at the All Stars, it’s likely you’ll be moved to Pop Century. If you’re booked at any Moderate Resort, you’ll probably get Contemporary Resort or one of the Deluxe Villas. Art of Animation family suites will likely end up with the Fort Wilderness Cabins or a Deluxe Villa. You get the idea. This only applies to mid to late July reservations; Caribbean Beach and other resorts should provide another release valve/relocation option for August and beyond bookings.
Overall, this should provide some clarity and reassurance to those with upcoming vacation bookings at Walt Disney World. It should also underscore a couple of things that we’ve been stressing. First, Walt Disney World is being slow and methodical with its reopening plans, and is not overly-eager to have everything back up and running this year. As we’ve said before, the remainder of 2020 is like a de facto soft opening for locals, Annual Passholders, DVC members, and very motivated visitors.
Second, on-site occupancy for later this summer and fall remains really low (the second point probably helps explains Disney’s perspective with regard to the first). We’ve already pointed out that there’s a ton more DVC availability than normal. The fact that so many other bookings can be consolidated at just Pop Century and Contemporary should be further proof of this. Once again, this should be viewed as good news by anyone who is worried about Disney Park Pass reservations ‘selling out’ incredibly quickly.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about these reopening dates for Walt Disney World hotels? Any surprises on this list for you? Think any of the TBDs will end up opening later in 2020, or are those resorts looking at 2021? If you have an upcoming booking in June or July 2020, has Disney already relocated you? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World this summer or fall, or are you waiting until next year? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Currently have reservations for POFQ for Oct 31-Nov 2. We are CM. Do you think they’ll upgrade us if we leave it alone?!?!
I booked my 6 day park hopper with free dining months ago for the end of August. Disney automatically cancelled my dining and hopper and my reservation states “Recovery 20 Package”. I understand I can make park reservation tomorrow, June 22, but it states you have to have park tickets. How can I purchase park tickets to be able to make park reservations? I am not able to change this as of today.
“Package” Should mean you have tickets with resort stay. When I click on “link tickets” it says they are already linked. I’m in exactly same boat as you too.
Thanks for this update! This new system definitely causes a lot of stress. I’m most interested to know if you received confirmation about the possibility of purchasing tickets tomorrow if you already have a 2020 resort reservation. We rented DVC points and have one person in our group who still needs a ticket. Would appreciate any updates on this particular situation
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What are your thoughts on the comparable resort offerings for the Polynesian? We were supposed to stay there at the end of July. Bummed that it will not be open but also very curious where we will end up.
We are also staying at the Polynesian at the end of July and am curious as well. I really hope we don’t have to move to the Contemporary. I’d rather move to POP and take a refund for the difference, if that’s the case.
Tom, is there any information that would lead you to believe that the hotels that are listed as TBD will be unavailable for booking new vacation packages for 2021? I read that travlers can start booking 2021 stays later this week, on June 24th.
What about the campsites? Are they already open? Will they open? So confused.
They open June 22
Tom, do you have any more insight on why the NBA deal is t a sure thing? I tried looking it up myself but can’t find any details.
Thank you for all your info, tips and hard work!
Here you go! https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29341659/concern-nba-grows-coronavirus-cases-spike-florida
Thank you!
Great question- I was wondering this same thing. I read the article Tom provided. I guess it’s hard to convince players many of whom have millions that an untested housekeeping staff is safe or at the moment, any hotel with cases rising in Florida. My own county has about 1200 and our neighboring county over 10,000 cases total. Even though areas are opening, I am hesitant to go anywhere that isn’t necessary, like the mall or downtown, etc. I can only imagine the feeling of “not needing to go there” if I had the options that money brings with it.
Tom, it is so sad to notice the stress and anxiety that is obvious in these responses. Planning the trip should be almost as exciting as going. If I was going through this I would cancel where I could get my money and wait a year or 18 months. It is not worth the sadness of what should be happiness.
A little confused on what is happening with all star resort reservations. My family has reservations at All Star Sports Oct 23-31. We’d like to get park reservations going tomorrow am but I’m not certain we’d be eligible for reservations since our resort doesn’t have a confirmed reopen date. Any advice??
If you have tickets with your resort reservation, you’re eligible to book the Disney Park Pass reservations tomorrow regardless of what happens with the reopening of All Star Sports.
Well, Disney did not modify our reservation for a vacation starting June 21- June 29@Coronado Gran Destino towers. You stated that if you had a vacation booked at a resort that was not open during the end of June to July 4, they were moving to a different resort that was open. I’m just letting you know that was not our case. We spoke to two different cast members, even a supervisor, they said we needed to reschedule for the fall at a DVC resort and pay the difference. How come they’re modifying/Upgrading some guests trips, And made others cancel their trip or move it to a later date after the parks open?.
My guess is because your trip didn’t fall into the June 22 to July 5 range that they’re modifying. It stinks that you’re only off by one day, but I don’t know how else to reconcile it.
Sorry to hear, either way. It’s disappointing that Disney dropped the ball for you. 🙁
I appreciate the response, Tom!
So many moving parts! It’s hard to keep track of. Thankful to have you, get the info to us;)
We just went ahead and booked a vacation for a week at the beach 🙂 I’ll be honest, with all the restrictions & how serious Covid is, I would rather go next year, or when things get a little less stressful. We were staying club level at the towers, Because that experience is so awesome:) I wouldn’t really want to stay at another Disney resort, Because we are doing basically a resort staycation. We only have three days at the park. I rebooked for Riviera in November. But it’s so expensive for a one bedroom villa! Our trip went from $4000, to $7800! (Rack rate-if discounts/promos become available, they could apply it to our trip. Or, see if Coronado has a room available we could transfer our stay there.) But,again, we were doing this vacation for the club level experience. It doesn’t sound like that’s going to be up and running anytime this year. So, We will probably cancel and just skip Disney this year. I appreciate your thorough blogs.
When do you and Sarah plan on going this year? Enjoy!!
Curious as to what people’s thought are on the limited Disney experience. Seems like we are paying a Disney price for a Six Flags experience (albeit with subpar thrill rides).
I have the exact same thoughts. We have a trip booked in November – originally had Cinderella’s Royal Table (character meal) booked right after a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience, a few other kid-centric extras planned (trip is during one kids’ b-day), and as of now none of that can happen. This would be my spouse and children’s first visit and I’m torn between keeping the trip or rescheduling to next year with hopes these extras will again be available. Unfortunately, we purchased Military tickets and they will only extend through Sept 2021, which means we cannot re-book for the same time next year without throwing away lots of money for tickets we don’t get to use. Then there’s the new park reservation system so you pretty much have to make a choice now or risk not having park availability when you want to re-book.
@Brittany
I’ve read on several blogs that the Military Salute ticket expiration has been extended to December 16, 2021
Also, you never lose the value of unused tickets. You can apply the full value of expired tickets towards purchase of new tickets.
Thank you for your service!
Tom-
I have a reservation for August 1st at Coronado Springs. Will Disney actually reach out about my reservation or will they just cancel if I don’t make contact? I’ve tried to stay under the radar, but I don’t want my reservation canceled, nor do I want to pay the difference for a moved location!!!
I wouldn’t hold your breath for Disney to reach out to you. It’s been hit or miss.
Haha! Here I thought I had gamed the perfect Disney vacation:
1. Whole family had COVID this spring (with blessedly mild symptoms)
2. Immediately booked a short Disney vacation at Boardwalk Inn directly through Disney to protect against closure/cancellation (normally we rent points or stay at Value resorts, and buy tix through Toms recommended websites) for August
3. Whole family tested negative for Covid and positive for antibodies last week
4. Followed this blog with glee, dreaming of low crowds and happy kids after a rough spring (while watching the rising case numbers in Florida w some concern)
And surprise! Boardwalk Inn won’t be open. We want to avoid monorails or buses so not sure what alternative hotels would work for us. I’ll wait and see what plays out, but we may end up scraping the whole plan.
What a bummer! Ah well. The joy of these first world problems, right!? I really thought I had nailed it!
Stay safe and be patient.
They might move you to Beach Club or BoardWalk Villas, which would be your ideal alternatives. If not, the Contemporary is walking distance of Magic Kingdom.
(Also, I chuckled that the first step of your “plan” was getting COVID. I know you didn’t intend it that way, but it’s a bit amusing. Good to hear it was only mild for your family! 🙂 )
@Rob, glad your family is ok. 🙂 Read an article speculating that blood type O has an easier time with COVID and Type A has the worst. Think there is any truth to that in your experience? Just wondering and total speculation based on article.) I really wish I knew my blood type right now. https://www.livescience.com/why-covid-19-coronavirus-deadly-for-some-people.html
I am incredibly confused. My travel agent has been saying that we will be upgraded at no cost, which makes total sense if our resort is not open…we are booked for August 15-29 at French Quarter. The way I read this article was that I will have to upgrade my resort AND pay the difference??!! If this is true, it is incredibly unfair. We have Platinum Plus AP that we likely will only get partial use of and that is ok, but if this is true I will not be happy about it. It is not a new reservation. It was made prior to the parks closing.
“The way I read this article was that I will have to upgrade my resort AND pay the difference??!!”
That’s definitely not what we’re trying to say. So long as you don’t proactively initiate the modification or seek a specific upgrade, you *should* be moved at no cost. Again, emphasis on should. Walt Disney World’s policies seem to be changing on a daily basis, so it wouldn’t surprise us if that, too, changes.
I think you’ll be upgraded it moved at no charge but not get to choose where you move. If you want to chose which hotel you move to then you’ll pay the difference. That’s how I read it at least. Good luck!
We had reservations for July 1-9. our paid in full date was June 1st. Told us free dining was cancelled, and that we’d have to stay at dvc property and pay the difference to stay there. They would not allow us to book a trip for 2021. Very disappointed with Disney and situation. We booked this trip last October
Disney did contact us but those were the choices we were given. Only would have credited us our tickets. I’m not paying $$$$.$$ for this type of vacation with limitations and restrictions and no park hopper. After this, might take some Disney time off.
Thanks for all the info you give us. We talked it over and decided to move our trip to the end of January. Too many things are unknown right now and our dream vacation was turning into a nightmare. It was also too stressful not knowing what was going to be open when we originally going in September.
So January it is. Hopefully things will have calmed down by then and Disney will have loosened their new rules.
So confused. I’m hearing conflicting reports from different sources. Some are saying that things will continue as they have been – if you do nothing and wait for Disney to contact you, you will get the free upgrade. Others are saying that because now there will be value and moderate resort open that now you have to modify yourself to an open resort (and pay any upgrade) or you’ll be cancelled if that’s not done within 7 days. We’re booked at POR for 7/23 and were inclined to just wait it out, but don’t want to risk our room being cancelled or not being able to get a room at a rate we could handle (likely we’d prefer to just downgrade to Pop). I wish this were all a little more clear cut. I don’t relish the idea of spending hours waiting on the phone this week either, since I’m sure the phone lines will be awful all week.
I’m in the same boat. Have a stay starting July 18 at Art of Animation suites. I don’t want it cancelled, I want it moved to something similar but don’t want to pay extra. Although nothing beats the special I got for that suite with 3 sleeping areas and 2 bathrooms and on skyliner. ( if that it open) works perfectly for us and our 2 teens.
I’m more worried about Savi’s workshop! We’re going the 2nd week of September and I’m praying I get to build a lightsaber by then!
Any news on park hopper refunds? We have a trip Aug 10-20 at Pop and have the park hopper option. Don’t want to call And upset things until all my park reservations are made!
I also have park hopper. I contacted them to modify to one park per day but was told they’re not modifying at the moment and to keep checking the website for updates.
My same thoughts!
We have a planned trip Dec 25 – Jan 2 at the French Quarters. We were suppose to have gone last March but rescheduled when Disney closed. Should I reschedule now for spring 2021 or wait to see what happens. My fear is that availability might not be there the long I wait.
DVC members for 13 years and this year has definitely been unlucky for us. Due to the Colorado “snow cylcone” of March 2019, we rescheduled that spring break trip to March 2020. Disney closed the night before our flight was to depart due to COVID-19. Rescheduled 2ndX to July 1-9 again at Riviera Resort. Parks still not going to reopen and no info about soft opening to DVC members. We have family of 5 with 7 day park passes and had dining plan purchased with disney gift cards. Disney is the winner on this one since we are out way too much money already. So disappointed in Disney’s lack of crisis management planning and lack of communication. They have been in business long enough to know to train for worst case scenarios and closures. We will use our DVC resort reservation only, and will go to Universal since we have to use our flights or lose even more money. Too frustrating working with Disney. Going on a vacation shouldn’t be this difficult and stressful!